Promoting gender equality in teachers\' training

Gender equality in education ensures that women and men, girls and boys have equal access to learning opportunities, apart from fair treatment in the teaching-learning processes, equitable outcomes and advancement in all spheres of life.
However, gender inequalities around the world are manifested in many aspects of education, including access, retention, success, and career choices and opportunities. This is both a cause and result of systemic discrimination and gender stereotyping. In some countries, gender gap is apparent for boys and men. However, girls and women undeniably experience the worst forms of discrimination. Furthermore, the teaching profession paints a mixed picture when it comes to gender parity and equality issues.
The UNESCO publication A Guide for Gender Equality in Teacher Education Policy and Practices aims to introduce the gender perspective to all aspects of teacher education and training, notably policy and planning, budgeting, curriculum development, pedagogy and instructional materials, support services, and monitoring and evaluation. This Guide, through its ten Modules, takes the reader step by step to the aspect of how gender can be mainstreamed in all areas of teachers' education and training: from policy and planning, administration and management, gender-responsive budgeting, social services, the environment, curriculum, pedagogy, research, to advocacy.  The Guide begins with the Module 'Understanding Gender', which discusses conceptual underpinning and provides general information, and clarifies concepts and definitions. Men and women, irrespective of the society in which they live, have different perspectives, needs, interests and roles. These differences reinforce culture, experience and traditions through socialisation in society. Generally speaking, women and girls have lower status, fewer opportunities, less access to resources, and less power and influence than men and boys. This results in inequalities, though if addressed should lead to the equitable development of both sexes. Teacher education institutions (TEIs) play a key role in education systems, and generally have great influence beyond their walls as change agents in society. TEIs need to fully grasp the concept of gender equality and mainstreaming gender equality perspectives in their day-to-day operations, including policies, curricula and services.
Module 2 is titled 'Formulating Gender-Responsive Policy and Plans'. It focuses on policy in general and teacher policy in particular. It discusses how the development of a gender-responsive teacher policy can be a major step towards gender-sensitive teacher education. It also elaborates on the assessment and formulation of international and regional policy instruments signed and ratified by countries, followed by the development of action plans and strategies to implement them. It also highlights measures to tackle gender equality issues such as unequal access to education, and career choices and opportunities for girls and boys, women and men.
The third Module 'Institutional Culture and Environment' describes institutional cultures and environments, highlighting ills such as sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence. It also discusses formal and informal traditions and practices, rules and regulations, intellectual and other coordination mechanisms, and social interactions in TEIs. It explains why it is necessary and important to develop institutional rules and regulations, and create institutional environments that foster gender justice and fairness.
Module 4 has 'Developing and Availing Gender-Sensitive Support Services for Staff and Student-Teachers'. It outlines some of the major support services provided in TEIs, such as accommodation, catering, transport, daycare, health, ordinary and special types of leave, career guidance and security that are essential for staff, students and the surrounding community. It describes the role of specific support services in advancing gender equality in teaching and learning at the TEIs, drawing attention to the difficulties and problems teacher educators and trainees face in the absence of these services, particularly disadvantaged students in post-conflict and post-disaster situations.
The next Module titled 'The Curriculum of Teacher Education' features teacher education curriculum and its importance in the educational process in selecting and organising knowledge, and how through knowledge the character, attitudes and behavioural patterns of learners are transformed. It focuses on how the teacher could mainstream gender into the curricula of the subject or knowledge areas in which they teach, and how to design class activities that deal with gender equality.
Module 6 is titled 'Pedagogy and Instructional Materials'. It discusses pedagogy and instructional materials, highlighting how gender equality perspectives could be mainstreamed into teaching and learning methodologies. It adopts a holistic approach to understanding pedagogy as a process of teaching, involving interactions between the teacher and learners, knowledge and the environment. It emphasises how mainstreaming gender could be practised in whatever pedagogical approaches or didactic methodologies an institution adopts and implements. The Module 7 'Administrative and Management Practices for Gender-Responsive Budgeting in Teacher Education Institutions' discusses gender-responsive budgeting for managers and administrators at the TEIs. It discusses gender-responsive budgeting as one consisting of procedures and tools aimed at ensuring that resources are allocated and used in ways that contribute towards mitigating gender inequalities, and thus increasing prospects and opportunities for gender equality and women's empowerment.
The next module is on mainstreaming gender equality issues in research. It discusses knowledge production and highlights research types and components, processes and procedures for conducting gender-responsive and gender-sensitive research that is beneficial to both men and women in TEIs and other institutions. It suggests how gendered research findings and gender-sensitive solutions could be implemented, and recognises the importance of the gendered nature of information and communication technology (ICT) and its use in advancing communication, discussion and dissemination of research findings beyond the TEIs.
Module 9 has 'Institutional Monitoring and Evaluation for Gender Sensitivity'. It introduces participatory and gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation for managers, administrators and others in various posts of responsibility and leadership in the TEIs. It emphasises gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation as a strategy to examine all institutional policies, activities and work plans through a gender lens. It also introduces managers and administrators to gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation approaches.
The Guide concludes with the Module 'Advocacy for Gender Equality'.
It discusses the awareness of teacher education institutions (TEIs)  and partners to sustainably develop or strengthen capacities, build partnerships and mobilise resources to mainstream and advocate for gender equality and practices. It suggests that teacher educators and trainers have comparative advantage and influence in speaking out about laws, policies, traditions, beliefs, attitudes and practices that hinder equitable progress. Gender related competencies are often not mandatory or considered a key professional attribute that teachers must possess.
The writer is an independent researcher.
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A Guide for Gender Equality in Teacher Education Policy and Practices Published by UNESCO, 2015
Pages 122, ISBN 978-92-3-100069-0